The present invention relates to a water conservation safety shut-off valve.
Water usage and conservation is widely studied and many articles are written about ways for consumers and industry to conserve water. The proposed solutions generally fall into two categories: (1) behavioral and (2) engineered. Behavioral solutions are generally human responses to situations to conserve water, such as turning off the water faucet while brushing teeth. Most of the engineered solutions presented are plumbing solutions aimed at restricting consumption of water; these include items like “low-flush toilets, “toilet displacement devices,” “low-flow showerheads,” and “faucets aerators.” Yet, the question still remains as to what is the most important thing an individual can do to reduce water usage in the home.
A simple answer is to identify and repair leaks in appliances and other plumbing fixtures. For example, the toilet tank is probably the most neglected plumbing fixture in a home. As valves and refill ball cocks age, they tend to leak. Flappers will deteriorate over time with exposure to water. Eventually, they begin a slow but constant seepage. Often, they silently leak away thousands of gallons of potable water before they are detected. Similarly, ball cocks will weaken with age and fail to shut-off after the tank is full, resulting in water slowly pouring over the top of the tanks overflow tube. Periodically, valves and ball cocks should be replaced as part of the routine maintenance of all plumbing in the home. A 1984 study by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development reported that 20% of all toilets leak. Most leaks occur when water leaks from the tank into the bowl through flapper valves, valve seats, and overflow tubes, which often go unnoticed and unheard.
Despite attempts to conserve water, the undetected leaks account for inadvertent loss of water resources and can account for thousands of gallons of water lost in as much as 20% of all homes. All engineered solutions, sooner or later, succumb to behavioral solutions that require human intervention with inspection and repair. Thus, no engineered solutions exist to intervene when excessive water usage is detected.
Thus, in view of the foregoing, the primary feature or advantage of the present invention is to provide a water conservation safety shut-off valve which addresses one or more of the foregoing problems.
Another feature or advantage of the present invention is a water conservation safety shut-off valve which can be easily attached to existing appliances, such as toilets.
Another feature or advantage of the present invention is a water conservation safety shut-off valve which resets itself under normal use, but times out and closes under abnormal extended use.
Another feature or advantage of the present invention is a water conservation safety shut-off valve which indicates to a user when there is a problem with water usage through the valve.
Another feature or advantage of the present invention is a water conservation safety shut-off valve which is easily resettable by a user.
Another feature or advantage of the present invention is a water conservation safety shut-off valve which is economical to manufacture, durable in use, and efficient in operation.
Another feature or advantage of the present invention is a water conservation safety shut-off valve which is adapted to detect minimal flows from a slow leak.
Another feature of advantage of the present invention is a water conservation safety shut-off valve which requires little voltage to operate and no voltage during nonfluid flow events.
Another feature or advantage of the present invention is a water conservation safety shut-off valve which exhibits minimal pressure drop across the valve.
Another feature or advantage of the present invention is a water conservation safety shut-off valve resistant to impurity and particulate buildup.
Another feature or advantage of the present invention is a water conservation safety shut-off valve having a time adjust feature void of multivariable time inputs and/or flow inputs, sophisticated microprocessor algorithms and complicated user interface traditionally needed for setup and operation.
Another feature or advantage of the present invention is a method of reducing water loss through leaky appliances using a water conservation safety shut-off valve.
One or more of these and/or other features or advantages will become apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art as described in the specification and claims that follow.